Sonata No 1
by Auroraas
Summary: Of all the people left in the universe, she is the last person Lee expects to find standing outside his father's quarters. *Set in the latter half of season 4.5


Of all the people left in the universe, she is the last person Lee expects to find standing outside his father's quarters, considering the fact that she has been all but living in sickbay since the mutiny.

It seems the universe loves to prove him wrong, he thinks as he approaches her. Kara looks terrible. She has lost weight since Earth, causing her fatigues to hang like a cloth over her too-slim frame. Her hair is a matted mess, her cheeks are hollow, and dark circles have formed under her eyes.

She is _beautiful_.

Kara meets his gaze with a halfhearted glare while she crosses her arms across her chest.

"Why are you here?" she inquires, cooly. Her hazel eyes remain steely, and her voice holds barely any emotion.

"I... the President asked me to come by." he replies, and Kara's eyes widen fractionally. "Did she ask you, too?"

Kara nods hesitantly in reply. A look of realization dawns on her face, then, and the corners of her mouth begin to twitch.

"'Family get together?' Didn't think it was her style." she smirks, and turns toward the hatch, spinning it to unlock it. She steps through first, and he follows close behind.

They must be here; Roslin's shoes are by the door, kicked off haphazardly, his father's glasses are on the bookshelf, Nomion is reverberating around the room... and the table is set for supper. Four plates lie on the cold, wooden surface, and two small covered platters of food have been placed in the center. Two candles adorn either side of the platters, and his father's finest silverware has been brought out.

"Where are they?" he inquires, trying to discern any sound that could give away their location. Kara shrugs, the scowl on her face softening in the darker lighting.

"Why don't you go check?" she grouses. Lee shoots her a slight glare, and begins to move towards the back rooms. He can hear their muffled voices as he draws near, and picks up his pace. An unexpected scene greets him as he rounds the corner. His father, clad in his dress grays, is holding Roslin's trembling hands between his larger ones. Tears are tracking down her face. Roslin looks otherwise lovely, dressed as she is in a simple white blouse and black skirt, with diamonds dangling from her ears.

"I can't stop them," her quavering voice is barely discernible above the music wafting in from the other room and the shudders and groans of _Galactica, _"They keep shaking, Bill."

She must be referring to her hands, then. It is then that he notices her unhealthy pallor, covered up under what must be the last remnants of her makeup collection, the way her clothing is loose and ill-fitting.

_She's dying._

As if hearing Lee's thoughts, Laura turns her head sharply towards him, eyes widening. She moves to face him, turning so that her left hand and his father's right are linked, using her now-freed right hand to wipe the tears hurriedly from her face. Both his father and Roslin slip into their well-worn masks; Roslin smiles too warmly while his father smiles too tightly.

"It's good to see you." his father nods.

"We, ah," Roslin pauses to wipe one last stray tear from her cheek, "didn't realize that you were here."

Lee smiles sadly at them both; he has no interest in feigning his emotions tonight.

"Kara and I just arrived," he begins, "I'll go tell her that you'll be out in a minute."

Roslin and his father smile gratefully at him, and he notices that his father's thumb has begun to stroke the President's knuckles. While he turns away from them, an image of his parents holding hands is at the forefront of his mind. The act had seemed unnatural, forced, for his father, while his mother had looked as though she were performing an unpleasant chore. However, for his father and Roslin, it seems perfectly right. The thought disturbs him a bit, but he clears his mind with a shake of his head and focuses his eyes on Kara once he reaches the main room.

"They're in the head. They'll be out soon." His statement is met with a halfhearted shrug. Lee sighs, and takes his place at the dining table. Kara sits next to him, as it is obvious that the President and his father will want to be seated near each other. As she sits, Lee steals a glance in her direction. Her expression is almost completely blank, but when she catches him staring, her eyes soften for a moment. When that moment has passed, though, she is distant again. Lee keeps his eyes firmly trained on his plate.

His father and Roslin enter the room with their hands linked, smiling genuinely, now. Kara looks up, and Lee thinks he can see a trace of a smile playing on her lips.

"Look at you two, shacking up and acting like teenagers. Helo owes me twenty cubits." a slight grin graces her features now, though it doesn't quite touch her eyes. His father smiles softly at her, while Roslin lets out a short laugh. The pair continue to walk hand in hand until they reach the table, where they sever the contact to seat themselves. Once they are situated, however, their hands find each other again. It is very nearly an unconscious action; Lee doesn't know what to think about that.

There is a period of silence, then, underscored by Nomion's 2nd. Both Kara and Lee shift uncomfortably in their seats, but his father and Roslin seem content for the moment. His father keeps... _looking_ at the President in a way that Lee never recalls him looking at his mother. And Roslin is looking right back at him in the same way. Lee clears his throat, and they shift their attention back to him.

"So, is there any particular reason that you wanted Kara and me here?" he asks. His sentence carries no trace of bitterness, as it would have little more than a year ago, but genuine curiosity.

Roslin smiles at him, before responding. "No."

His father carries the ball. "We wanted to see you both, get the family together." At this, both Kara and Roslin sport slight smiles on their faces. He continues, "After everything that's happened recently..."

"I understand, Dad." Lee responds.

Roslin's smile grows larger, and she looks at his father in the same way that they have been looking at each other all night. With... love in their eyes. They love each other. This isn't really news to him, he's known it since the mutiny.

"Well, now that we're all here... I'm feeling hungry in the first time in who knows how long. What've we got?" Kara asks, eyeing the various dishes on the table. The entire table chuckles.

.

.

.

Dinner is okay. Mostly algae, but it's spiced. Either the Old Man or Roslin managed to get some _actual_ food brought over by the Cylons- cheeses, fruit, that kind of stuff, so there's a few bites of apple and something that tastes like cheddar cheese for everyone.

Roslin doesn't eat much, and she coughs a lot, but she seems to be happy. Love will do that to a person, Kara thinks, and looks over to Lee. She wonders, not for the first time, if they would've been happy if she hadn't run off to Sam that morning on New Caprica. She thinks they would've been.

Kara clears the thought from her mind, and focuses on the task of consuming everything on her place. She hasn't been eating... at all, really. She's been able to choke down a few bites of algae here and there, but nothing substantial, and her worrying over Sam has forced her to regurgitate it most times anyway.

Kara only looks up when she hears the sound of laughter. Once she does, everyone seems to be staring at her, suppressing their previous laughter.

"What?" she means to ask, but her mouth is full of food, so it comes out as more of a "Whuah?"

"Hungry?" Lee asks, voice dripping with mirth. Kara glares at him, and finishes chewing. She swallows with a purposefully audible gulp, and looks around the table, scowling.

"Happy?" she hisses. First Roslin, then the Old Man, then Lee start to laugh uproariously. After glaring at them for several beats, Kara begins to join in. The Old Man's quarters are filled with the sounds of joy, and for a moment, Kara forgets about all the shit that has been going on lately. She thinks that this is what having a family is like. And then she realizes, this isn't _like _having a family.

This _is_ her family. She looks at the Old Man and sees a father, the one that she's wanted her entire life. Looking at Roslin, she sees a mother, a mother a hundred times better than her actual mother had been. And looking at Lee, she sees... she doesn't know what she sees. A brother? A lover?

Her thoughts are interrupted with a loud cough. Roslin. This isn't like the coughs before, however. These are body-wracking, horrible, horrible sounding coughs. The Old Man immediately springs to action, wrapping her in his arms, whispering into her ear to breathe in, out, in, out. Roslin does this, and Kara finds herself following his advice as well. Eventually, her coughs subside, but the mood has been seriously dampened.

"You alright?" Adama asks the President, and she nods in response.

"I'm fine, honey." she replies, bringing her hand up to stroke his face. He kisses her forehead lightly, and releases her.

Kara glances at Lee, and has to keep herself from laughing once she sees his expression. He looks like he's about to hurl. But then his expression changes... softens. She's seen that expression before. He looked at her like that as they fell asleep tangled in each other on the cold ground on New Caprica, he looked at her like that every time they stole away for a quick frak after the dance. Her breath catches in her throat, and she averts her eyes.

It gets quiet, and everyone finishes eating quickly. There's another period of awkward silence before Roslin suggests that they go to the sitting room to relax. The Old Man agrees, and so the two lovebirds cuddle up in the middle of the couch while Kara and Lee sit next to them... next to _each other_. Lee shoots glances at her for about a minute before Roslin inadvertently breaks it up.

"Oh, I love this piece." she sighs, leaning her head against the Old Man's chest and smiling contentedly. Kara's eyes widen as she recognizes it. Gods, why this one...

"I recognize it. What its name again?" Lee asks, eyes all honest confusion. Damn his ignorance.

"It's... it's the first sonata composed by my... father." Kara mumbles, stumbling over her words while attempting to suppress the both the anger and the tears that come with her father's memory. The Old Man's eyes immediately soften, but Roslin and Lee look properly shocked. At first, anyway. Then their looks turn to ones that Kara interprets as looks of pity. She starts to breathe quickly and heavily almost instantly. Just about a year ago, she would have run at this point.

_Kara Thrace, who hurts everyone she loves._

But now... she has changed. Matured a bit, though she is still prone to shrugging off affection. After almost losing Sam... she can't take anything for granted any more. So she calms herself, takes a few deep breaths in and out, and smiles. The Old Man and Roslin smile back, and Lee... Lee takes ahold of her hand. Lightly, of course, because he's Lee and cautious is his middle name. Kara grips his hand back, hard, and leans back against him. Lightly, of course, because she's Kara, and she can't help but be frightened of affection.

"Do you want to me to change the song?" Lee asks her, quietly. Kara smiles, shakes her head.

"No."

The music continues, and the room is filled with its sad melody.

.

.

.

It is late, and everyone feels it. Their voices have died down; pleasant conversation and good natured jesting has replaced by yawns and half-hearted chatter. Lee knows that it's time to leave when Roslin falls asleep on his father's chest, fitting perfectly against him. Lee motions to the door, and both he and Kara exchange awkward hugs with the Old Man, trying to express their affection without jostling the President. They then tiptoe quietly out the door, and shut the hatch slowly behind them.

"Well, that was..." Lee trails off, turning to Kara.

"Fun." Kara completes his sentence, and he is pleased to note that her tone does not hold any hints of sarcasm. She actually enjoyed it.

"Yeah. It was." he smiles. It was nice to see his father and Roslin looking so... relaxed, domestic. Happy. And seeing Kara lighten up for the first time in weeks was definitely worth it.

"We should go back next week maybe," she starts, "surprise them or something."

Lee can tell that she is uncomfortable with this, but he agrees to her proposition. They stand outside his father's quarters for a few more moments, just looking at each other, before Lee gestures behind him.

"Well, I'd, uh... I'd better get going. To Colonial One." Kara's eyes widen at this, and she shakes her head a little.

"Lee... no. Stay here tonight." It's Lee's turn to look shocked now, but he can only nod dumbly as Kara motions for him to follow her, presumably to the pilot's quarters. They walk in relative silence, simply enjoying each others presence, before they arrive at their destination. Kara stoops down for a moment, and Lee watches with growing anticipation as he realizes what she is doing. She unlaces her boots, and places them neatly by the hatch, before spinning it open and grabbing his hand. She winks, and pulls him inside.

.

.

.

Bill can't remember the last time he was this... at peace. As Laura shifts slightly in his arms, he gazes down at her, and feels a tender smile spreading across his face. A few strands of her wig have fallen in her face, and as he moves to smooth them back, her eyes open. The smile she gives him makes his heart skip a beat, and he finds himself returning it.

"Hi." her tone is light, happy. She leans up and kisses him sweetly.

"Hi." he returns her greeting, and her kiss. She deepens it slightly, before pulling back and resting her head back against his chest.

"Lee and Kara left?" she asks, as more of a rhetorical question than one needing confirmation. He nods anyway, and tightens his grip on her.

"That was a nice dinner." Laura murmurs, smiling sleepily.

"It was." he agrees, and strokes her back with his hand. He can feel her drifting off.

"Laura," he starts, to get her attention. She looks up, expectantly. "Love you."

"Love _you_." she replies, nuzzling further into his embrace. She stretches out on the couch, resting her head on his lap. Bill strokes her cheek with his thumb, and she hums. They both smile in contentment, then, and allow themselves to drift off to sleep.


End file.
